The Beehive and Gem States

As we left Nevada and headed to Heber City, Utah we were amazed at the salt lakes along our route. As Floridians, this was a new experience and one that necessitated more research on the topic. For those like me that need a brief microbiology course, salt lakes form when the water flowing into the lake, containing salt or minerals, cannot leave because the lake has limited drainage basins. The water then evaporates, leaving behind any dissolved salts and thus increasing its salinity, making a salt lake an excellent place for salt production.

Once settled in at The Mountain Valley RV Resort, we quickly realized this off the beaten path resort was unlike any other we have visited. A 21 year and older only section with a lap pool and spa, gym, lounge, and recreation area were a pleasant surprise. Other than the Holland America cruise we took several years ago, this place promised and delivered on not having to deal with screaming, splashing and inconsiderate kids running around while trying to relax, read and take in the sun.

Another resort upgrade we had was access to was unlimited wifi capabilities for only $30 a month. Also, for a monthly site rent of $785, with all the tremendous amenities, we considered this a steal.

During our first week in Utah, we explored Park City, which was the area they hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics. We also visited Deer Creek Lake, Salt Lake City, and a few local establishments. The architecture of the buildings in these areas was very contemporary and appeared to be somewhat new. We were advised by locals that the area was growing at a rapid pace and was expected to double in size in the next few years. With July/August daytime temperatures of 80's-90's and evenings of the high 50's, we could see the draw to enjoying the outdoors of this community. Water sports, hiking, biking, ATV, and motorcycling were just some activities we observed or participated in.

Since I had already planned to visit my family in Florida for a week during our time in Utah, Darryl stayed back and managed some household projects (i.e. new wood installed to stabilize cabinets, a new charging platform organizer, ran electrical cords to eliminate fuses being blown from being overloaded, installed new weather stripping for the front windshield, changed the oil in the generator, installed new hooks to hang keys, placed new dampers in our heating system and of course found some time to relax and hang out at the pool.

My time in Florida included a much-needed neck adjustment from my chiropractor, pedicure, hair coloring and cut, 3 days stay at Clearwater Beach, lunch at Apps and another at Chimento’s, visiting some of my previous colleagues at Hillsborough County and spending time with the family. On the day prior to my scheduled leave back to Utah, I had an unexpected visitor by the name of “kidney stones from hell.” I had the pleasure of being seen at the Lake Nona VA Medical Center ER and was advised it would likely take several days to pass the stones during which time I would experience a significant amount of pain. Since the doctor scheduled a consult on the following Monday, I had to extend my visit for another week leaving Darryl to fend for himself.

Once back in Utah and during our last week there, we found and hiked a beautiful trail along Deer Creek Lake, soaked up the sun by the pool, shopped at health stores, and binge-watched the Netflix shows, The Sinner and Goliath. Realizing our ability to stream movies would be ending abruptly with our upcoming visit to Yellowstone National Forest (no wifi, cell or tv), we watched Cock Blockers, I feel Pretty and Game Night. We spent our last day hosting a lasagna lunch for our neighbors, Gary and Robin.

A few facts we discovered while in Utah: 1) The state is made up of over 62% Mormons, yet they preferred to be called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, not LDS Church or Mormons. 2) Liquor and alcohol can only be bought "hot" at the state-run liquor stores. We were told this law is changing this year. 3) Utah had the fifth-highest overall suicide rate at 25.2 per 100,000, and since 1999, the state saw a 46.5 percent increase in residents taking their own lives. 4) Utah has the highest rate of online porn subscriptions in the United States and 5) Utah has the highest consumption of Jell-O in the United States. In fact, Jell-O is Utah’s state snack.

In order to be close to the Craters of the Moon National Park, we selected Arco, Idaho as our next stop. We found the Mountain View RV Park, which hosted large sites, some television channels, great wifi, views of agricultural lands and boasted some amazing weather. While the weekly fee was a little pricey ($265), we were happy to be in a more natural setting. With no Walmart or major grocery store within 65 miles, we opted to buy locally which resulted in higher prices. I mean like one avocado for $2.85 versus a standard $1.25 or a small cone of ice cream for $3.25.

While staying in Arco, we:

• Visited the Craters of the Moon which has an incredible history of volcanic eruptions, lava fields, formations, and caves. It took about 4 hours to see the entire preserve and was a memorable experience for both Darryl and me.
• Biked into the main city where we saw an original submarine tail which was donated to the city and in honor of the military sub-service of some of its citizens.

• Observed the memorial site celebrating the city being the first to be powered by nuclear energy.
• Ate at the RV park restaurant which bragged about having some of the best bar-b-que ribs in the U.S. Darryl agreed.
• Visited the site of the numbered hill. The story goes that each year the town has a graduating class, they spray paint the year on the mountain. The earliest goes back to 1923.

And the rest of our time included reading, studying, exercising and meeting some of the other campers.